Beer: Reviews & Ratings

Rusty, musty, metallic malt liquor flavor. Is this the wave of the Belgian brewing future, or a ghost from a faded past?

If I'd poured this out of a bottle I'd say it was old and aged in the back of a pickup truck. It has that flat, oxidized taste. Expecting the skunk. Instead, a surprising and unpleasant bitterness.

This is a truly weird beer. If it's an authentic piece of history with special heirloom yeast, I guess we should be grateful it still exists. But nobody in America would deliberately make a beer that smell like this. Old sneakers? old tires? (563 characters)

While this is a blonde/saison hybrid, it seems, at least to moi, to incorporate some of my least favorite aspects that one can find in a beer.

While is is quite pretty, resembling a blonde Leffe, the taste is somewhat one-note; like unripe tangerine, where one tastes the pith without the fruit or the juice.

At 6.0% ABV, it can be sessionable, which I do like.

The aftertaste is not as lasting as some that I have tried, but the aftertaste to me, is most similar to ear or shoe wax.

To be fair, at first on the palate there is some refreshing acidity. Also, the lacing is lovely, and the bubbles are tight.

I think that there are some who will truly enjoy this beer, but I am afraid I needed a little more hops or alternatively candy ester sweetness, or additionally an unexpected aspect to make me enjoy this beer just a little more. And no, I don't like my beers too sweet either. Balanced and tight and floral are some of the characteristics I tend to cherish.

The warmth of the beer, caused by becoming closer to room temperature, does make this beer open up more, and become more balanced. I find I am liking it closer to it's prescribed temperature (which is not unusual, of course). And as I sip more, the earwax flavor note is dissipating. Though I will not change my review numbers, I will be more open to this unusual beer's flavor profile in the future. :) (1,376 characters)

Pours a hazy, golden yellow with a white head. Good head retention and lacing with a light, fluffy texture. Some yeasty particles are floating in suspension.

The aroma and taste are neither bad or good. Both are fitting of the style, but are a bit boring, especially for the lively saison style. The nose brings some slight, pear-like fruitiness, with a touch of funk. It reminds me of an old, maybe even moldy pear. Nothing about the aroma is vibrant or interesting, and there is a touch of skunkiness. The taste is incredibly bland. A touch of grainy sweetness in the middle and assertive bitterness is found in the back. There is a touch of fruitiness, but not nearly enough yeast character for the style.

The mouthfeel is very dry and light in texture, fitting with the Saison style. It's a bit overcarbonated, and a little less fizziness would have helped, but it doesn't hurt the beer too much. I won't be getting this again soon, unless I revisit it in fear that I got a bad bottle. (991 characters)

Poured into a Leffe style chalice for tasting, giving off a darkish yellow/brown with and opaque quality. White creamy head with about one and a half finger lace with average staying power. Decent lacing as well, slight carbonation.

This saison has an at first yeast smell, very faint malt in the background, and a very hidden almost macro corn/alcohol like smell in the end. Bouquet though is kind of a chewyness that hangs in the air not as really aromatic for a saison, light aromas nevertheless. Grass is also apparent sometimes.

Taste is odd, for a 6% ABV though the alcohol appears very forward and extremely predominant as the first taste. At only 6 it masks everything smelled before it, but does finish with a nice but not too powerful lime bitterness and not from any hops. The alcohol domination I feel is weird cause it's still low at six.

Mouthfeel is not too bad some wetness.

I wish that this wasn't so alcohol forward or at least masked better cause it would otherwise be even more drinkable but I'll say it's average for that. (1,047 characters)

Pours a murky golden with a nice long lasting creamy head. Aroma of citrusy hops with some sweet light malt. Taste is light bitter hops and sweet nutty malt. Palate is light and crisp with good carbonation. Finish is bitter hops some spiciness, with light sweet nutty malt, a bit on the bitter side. Overall a drinkable brew. (325 characters)

Clear golden color. A very sweet nose of hops as flavoring plants, especially those that scent the sweets. In the mouth, the hops are almost non-existent and the beer lacks body slightly even if we do not fail to note that alcohol is not very noticeable and makes the drink so easy to drink. The finish is very persistent and the slight touch of hops that accompanies it, reminding the local side, is far from being transcendent and spicy touch that emerges is also unpleasant. (477 characters)

I bought this beer at the beershop of the Bierparadijs in Meer, Belgium.

Poured in my Struise glass this beer looks normal but with five fingers head there is a bit of a difference. Yellow fluid with some carbonation. The beer feels like you are drinking a whitebeer. Dry and crisp. (283 characters)

More like a BSPA .... the pale malts and the pretty abundant clove and banana are too heavy for a saison.. much akin to a Hefe... a bit skunky and funky.. too phenolic.. band-aid.

The clove phenols are pretty heavy... some Hefe banana.. minor pale malts pull flavors out, but there is a deep "clinical" flavor that show funky band-aid ... eeehhhh... I'm trying to like it. Some pink bubblegum notes show with warmth...

The finish is really not that good... metallic... and too phenolic.... tastes like beer with a bag of pennies with some mild sugar cookies... metallic burps ... no where near a good saison.

I honestly wanted to like this one more, but this is my third bottle and I'm underwhelmed at best. It's not too expensive is my only real positive at this point. I hope we get a new batch into Boise so I can give it another try.

A 330ml bottle with a BB of June 2014. Picked up from a Belgian supermarket while on a trip over there some time ago. Described on the label as a thirst-quenching blonde beer.

Poured into a Duvel tulip. Bottle conditioned. A bright, hazy golden-amber hue with plenty of chunky sediment and good carbonation. Produces a large head of creamy white foam that lasts for a few minutes before subsiding to a patchy surface layer. Slight lacing. Aroma of fruity yeast esters with hints of mild grain, breadiness, subtle spice, a delicate earthiness and a twinge of solvent in the background. So-so.

Hmmm - not the best saison I've ever tried, but this bottle might be a tad old. Looks alright, while the aroma and flavour are dominated by dry yeast with a spice and faint fruit character. Body is OK. A bit too dry and harsh to be pleasant, and there's also a twinge of oxidation in the background. Maybe I'll re-review if I get the chance. Nothing special; no need to seek it out. (1,406 characters)

S: Funky, a little fruity (grape, melon? can't put my finger on it), and white pepper. Some others mentioned clove - the sweetness/fruit that I noticed may actually be more clove, though it is very light.

T&M: Lightly funky, relatively clean. I found the taste to be a little light compared to the aromas, which, while light, were more forward. Spritzy and light mouthfeel. Just enough earthy hop bitterness to balance out the grain. No real hop contribution otherwise.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one, I could put a few back. It is a little light in yeast and hop character, in my opinion, but that might be more to style for the Belgian saisons. Still very refreshing, I would have liked a little more zip from the hops and some more complexity from the yeast. Again though, perfect for a summer day. A real porchrocker. (1,137 characters)

Pours a crystal-clear pale yellow. Really, the translucency is impressive. A collection of small, fine bubbles form a two finger head. This is a good looking beer for sure.

I am much less impressed with the aroma. I'm wavering between scoring it a 3.0 and a 3.5; it's very slightly above average. The problem with this bottle of Saisonniere anyway is that it is almost entirely yeast-dominant. That can be fine and good, but not when your yeast is sort of boring or atypical for the Saison style. There's some bubblegum yeastiness, plenty of black pepper and/or other assorted spices, and a fair amount of hops. Some people who have reviewed this beer mention some funkiness, but I don't pick up on any of that. This is straightforward Belgian yeast and very little apart from that.

The taste is a lot like the nose is, only more reductive (and prohibitively so). There's an abundance of spicy hops that meet a fair amount of bubblegum esters. That's about it, unfortunately. Almost none of the nuances that so attract me to the Saison style are found in this beer.

the carbonation is active but on the soft side in terms of physicality. It helps the entire mouthfeel considerable. Overall, this is an average Saison. Considering the level of hoppiness, the experience of drinking it is like that of Boulevard Tank 7, only this beer doesn't come close to entering Tank 7's realm. Sometimes a mix between Saison and IPA can work very well. This beer isn't one of those. (1,513 characters)

Appearance is clear pale gold with a big white head that is quick to settle, leaving scattered lace.

Smell is oddly sweet, nougat. Banana esters.

Taste is very heavy on the clove and banana esters, really more like a hefe weizen. Spicy, coriander? A little earthy, with a bitter hop finish.

Mouthfeel is dry, light bodied.

Drinkability is okay, it's just not really what I look for in a saison, the ester profile is oddly heavy on the banana and clove. Decent beer but just didn't hit the spot I was looking for. (520 characters)

I drank this on tap at Hopleaf into an Urthel Saissonaire glass...The beer is a light straw that is pretty cloudy, very good lacing and retention...The aroma is really light, light hops but that's about it...The taste is also really light, but a distinct sour/bitter finish to it...Super light feel, decently drinkable but nothing special. (339 characters)

Straight pour from 330ml pry-off bottle to a large wineglass; freshness date of January, 2012 clearly printed in black ink along with batch information near the bottom of the back label, right next to the barcode (“01-2014 10:40 K13611”)

Appearance (4.0): A fairly aggressive, cream-colored head rises quickly enough on this beer, reaching about three fingers of really tight foam that dies down slowly to leave a rocky cap on top of the beer’s body. The body is nice, perfectly hazy, peachy, orange-amber color, and not cloudy exactly—just very hazy. Not a ton of lacing here, but the head takes it sweet time dying and never fully disappears.

Smell (4.0): This is a nice, fruity, fragrant saison. Not overly spicy in the nose, it smells more like fresh passionfruit juice with a bit of banana-clove action going on underneath, with a moderate wet hay (like hay silage, actually) character alongside everything. I like it.

Taste (3.0): On the palate, it’s similarly un-spicy, but the malt character has a spicy, rye-like character which slides into a soapy-herbal hop finish which is surprisingly strong. That rye-like spiciness subsumes any spicy character that comes from the yeast, but the herbal, soapy hop note covers up almost everything else relatively quickly. It works, but it’s nothing special, unfortunately.

Mouthfeel (3.5): This has a very dry finish and a body that’s surprisingly light, with a smooth carbonation, a bit too subdued for the style. It’s good, but doesn’t stand out in any way.

Overall (3.5): This is a decent saison. Very little of it really “punches” in any way, but it does what it’s meant to do and drinks easy, and I’d like to try this on draft. All in all, the nose was the best part, for me. Overall I’m a bit disappointed, but it’s not a bad saison by any stretch—guess I was just expecting a lot more. (1,881 characters)

Bottle@home: if I am reading this right, the bottle is less than a week old, certainly possible because it taste like that:

A: very hazy yellow, lots of head on this one but it doesn't stick around for longS: hops & citrusT: dominating bitter hops, citrus, wheat, very small hint of spice & banana, minor grassM: decent carbonation, kind of thin but not watery bodyD: sessionable but the bitterness was very dominant which would make me decline a second one (462 characters)

Pours a very slight hazy golden yellow color with visible carbonation bubbling up and a to finger frothy/soapy white head that has excellent retention, only slowly fading into a lasting cap. Sporadic spots of lacing.

Lighter side of medium body with lots of crisp soft carbonation up front that creates a champagne like effervescence. Slightly slick mouthfeel with a syrupy texture. Slightly funky and earthy with subtle tartness. There is some earthy hop bitterness along with some peppery/coriander spice and light fruit notes, mostly banana, apple and pear. Drinkable but kind of like a Duvel/IPA/honey beer hybrid. (808 characters)

On tap at Sessions Greensboro.Poured into a chalice a lemony color with a nice formed white head that held well,lemon pepper and barnyard funk in the nose,for me a bit off putting but for some great.Grainy and lightly toasted with herbal hop flavors,spiced phenols along with funk take over and linger into the finish.Iam not a huge saison fan but I was intruiged by the uniqness of this beer,in the end the funkiness was the main component of the beer I came away with. (470 characters)

This presents a foggy gold color. It's head was a crispy sudsy white, plentiful, and left beatuiful lacing.

Aroma is suprisingly sufficient in the malt department. There's also hints of tea, lemon, and faint banana.

The taste follow suit with the same level of malt found on the nose. There's also moderate hops, and a bit of anise. I felt that that the taste didn't come to play as much as I thought it might. This looks bolder than it tastes.

Thoroughly carbonated mouthfeel.

Drinkability is easy. More drinkable thank other blonde sporting a lower abv. But this isn't something I'd like multiples of beyond 2.

Not band for a blonde, which is usually not a super exciting style for me. (725 characters)